


romeo + juliet

by edbloom



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Heavy Angst, Hurt No Comfort, Inspired by SKAM, M/M, POV Second Person, Post-Break Up, Romeo and Juliet References
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-03
Updated: 2020-05-03
Packaged: 2021-03-02 04:06:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,143
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23978680
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/edbloom/pseuds/edbloom
Summary: Lee Donghyuck didn't regret loving Na Jaemin. Even when he couldn't watch his favorite film anymore.
Relationships: Lee Donghyuck | Haechan/Na Jaemin
Comments: 1
Kudos: 7





	romeo + juliet

**Author's Note:**

> hi !!
> 
> i wrote this impulsively without stopping. idk what's with me rn.
> 
> fun fact! i've never watched romeo + juliet. i just thought it was fun to imagine jaemin act like romeo. and then i hurt myself by imagining that so.
> 
> ah the angst of thwarted love.
> 
> enjoy, i didnt have this one beta'd.

They were showing Romeo + Juliet that day. The one directed by Baz Luhrmann.  _ Thursday, day of the classics _ . The thought sounded like somebody else. Not your tone, not your voice. You wished they were here to say it.

You pushed through the cinema doors. Cold air welcomed you. Good thing you brought a jacket. It was slipping from your shoulders, you pulled it up. It was too big for you. It wasn’t yours, why would it fit you in the first place?

The ticket booth was beside the snack corner. You waited in line, shoulders slumped, eyes wandering. You had time. No one was waiting for you, and you weren’t waiting for anyone.

Your movie wasn’t showing until 2:30 and it was still 2:16, you found out after checking your watch. You remembered it from checking the schedule on the cinema’s website over and over again. It plagued your phone’s browser history. You remind yourself to delete it later.

The lady at the counter didn’t smile at you when you reached the front. That was fine. You didn’t really have it in you to smile at anyone, anyway. You asked for two tickets for Romeo + Juliet. The money in your pocket was carefully counted for this moment. You did it out of habit, you reminded yourself. No one was waiting.

You reached out for the ticket, and your hand made contact with the lady at the booth. You felt nothing except for indifference. She was pretty but you didn’t look at her enough to have thought about it.

The snack corner was a lot more isolated. No one was there. Kind of. There was a group of boys buying popcorn, their laughter a beacon in the glum of your mind. You hated it.

2:20. You waited in line, again. Shoulders still slumped, eyes still wandering. You tried very hard to ignore the rumbustious boys in front of you. Any other day you would have shouted at them, or told them to simmer down, but right then, you just felt like crying. 

They left after they got their orders. They remind you of someone, your eyes following them as they jumped and ran to whatever theater their movie was. You wished that someone was there with you. No one was waiting.

You ordered popcorn and gummy worms. You didn’t like sweets. You didn’t know why you bought it in the first place. A habit.

2:27. You made your way to the theater. It didn’t take you long. Loathed to admit, you knew this cinema better than anyone. Well. One someone.

There were seats at the back. At the very end, near the projector room. Seats you knew like the back of your hand. A part of you wanted nothing more than to go there. You didn’t. You chose a seat in the middle, and the tug of longing in your chest felt so real, you almost stood up from your  seat. But you didn’t. Because no one was waiting. You had to remind yourself that over and over again.

The movie started, a couple of minutes after you sat down. You missed the commercials. You didn’t mind. No one was there to laugh at them with you.

The movie opened with a fight scene between the Montague and Capulet clan. Just like it did every single time. It was loud. It was noisy. You hoped it was enough to drown out the sobs that were threatening to come out of you.

The scene passed by before your eyes. You weren’t sure if you were paying attention but you felt the ache in your chest triple when Romeo met Juliet. You placed the popcorn and pack of gummy worms on the seat beside you. The pain made you want to curl up in your seat like a child.  _ It hurt. It hurt. It hurt. _

_ “Then move not while my prayer's effect I take,”  _ Romeo said before kissing Juliet; for a moment, it didn’t sound like Leonardo DiCaprio. For a moment, it didn’t sound like it came from the movie. For a moment, it sounded like a whispered proclamation under a streetlight, voice hushed but strong. For a moment, you felt a ghost of a touch- a ghost of a hand tilting your chin. You can’t do it. 

They kiss again, and you remembered a smile against your lips and your own quiet laughter.

“ _ Sin from my lips? O trespass sweetly urged! Give me my sin again. _ ”

Your eyesight turned blurry as the movie went on.

They were at the pool now. Something bubbled at the end of your throat. 

“ _ It is the East, and Juliet is the sun! _ ” A sob was torn from your lips as you reminisced of a boy who proclaimed the same words to you in a whisper, one night as you both snuck into the public pool. He had a smile so big, you almost corrected him. Almost told him the sun seemed dimmer compared to his smile. But you weren’t one for proclamations, and you were too distracted by the prospects of being caught. You regret not telling him

_ “What man art thou that, thus bescreened in night, so stumblest on my counsel? _ ” You played along then, too endeared to stop him. He pulled you into the freezing water but all you could think was his arms around your waist. His laugh. His smile. His eyes. Him under the moonlight. Him against the pool lights. You missed it.

_ “Art thou not Romeo, and a Montague?” _

_ “Neither, fair maid, if either thee dislike.” _

_ “If they do see thee, they will murder thee.”  _ You recited, pulling him close.

_ “I have night's cloak to hide me from their eyes.”  _ He whispered while he rested a hand against your cheek.

_ “And but thou love me, let them find me here.”  _ Your eyes fluttered close, his lips a hair width away.

“ _ My life were better ended by their hate.”  _ He caressed your cheek as he whispered softly.

_ “Than death prorogued, wanting of thy love.”  _ Soft, loving, gentle. He had said it with so much love. You believed him.

He kissed you then. He kissed you in the freezing pool, under the moonlight, to the sound of cicadas and the blowing wind.

_ I love you. _

He kissed you and for the first in a long long time, you felt loved.

_ I love you. _

You couldn’t do it.

He wasn’t there.

You opened your eyes, your face wet with so much tears. You were crying. The sharp ache in your chest was getting too much. Standing up from your seat, you took a chance and took a glance at the seats in the far back.

No one was waiting.

You left the theater to the sound of Romeo and Juliet exchanging their vows. You couldn’t hear them from how loud your cries were.


End file.
